Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the potential financial impact of staggering school summer holidays across regions in England on families.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has not made a formal assessment of the merits of introducing regional variations in summer holiday dates.

School holidays are not determined at national level and are decided locally by trusts, schools and local authorities, depending on the school type.

The department encourages collaboration between schools, trusts and local authorities in the setting of term dates to minimise any disruption or inconvenience to families. In doing so, they should consider the importance of regular school attendance to children’s attainment, wellbeing and wider development.

The department will keep this policy area under review, including considerations of the impacts of different approaches to school holiday arrangements.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing regional variations in summer holiday dates to reduce peak demand for domestic and international travel.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has not made a formal assessment of the merits of introducing regional variations in summer holiday dates.

School holidays are not determined at national level and are decided locally by trusts, schools and local authorities, depending on the school type.

The department encourages collaboration between schools, trusts and local authorities in the setting of term dates to minimise any disruption or inconvenience to families. In doing so, they should consider the importance of regular school attendance to children’s attainment, wellbeing and wider development.

The department will keep this policy area under review, including considerations of the impacts of different approaches to school holiday arrangements.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with representatives of the travel industry regarding the relationship between school holiday dates and peak-season pricing.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has not made a formal assessment of the merits of introducing regional variations in summer holiday dates.

School holidays are not determined at national level and are decided locally by trusts, schools and local authorities, depending on the school type.

The department encourages collaboration between schools, trusts and local authorities in the setting of term dates to minimise any disruption or inconvenience to families. In doing so, they should consider the importance of regular school attendance to children’s attainment, wellbeing and wider development.

The department will keep this policy area under review, including considerations of the impacts of different approaches to school holiday arrangements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of arrangements for police forces to combine intelligence from (a) police records, (b) automatic number plate recognition systems and (c) publicly available information to identify and disrupt persistent vehicle-related offending.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government recognises the serious impacts that vehicle theft and dangerous driving can have on businesses, communities and individuals and is determined to ensure that crimes such as these receive the response they deserve.

Police Reform will support policing and provide our communities with more consistent services and policing which responds to local needs.  At the local level, new Local Policing Units (LPUs) will work with communities to focus on the issues that matter most to them, such as responding to emergencies, preventing and investigating local crime – such as vehicle theft and dangerous driving – and supporting safer neighbourhoods. In addition, the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee commits to delivering 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel by the end of the Parliament. 3,814 additional police officers and PCSOs were delivered into neighbourhood roles by Mach 2026, creating more capacity for local patrols and a stronger presence in communities.

Vehicle theft is often organised, mobile and cross border in nature. At the national level, Police Reform will address cross-border threats such as these by establishing a more capable National Police Service (NPS) that will tackle national threats and deliver national capabilities. The NPS will bring together four core functions: strategic leadership, standard setting, support and enabling services for police forces in England and Wales and the operational response to serious and organised crime, like serious organised vehicle crime, and threats to national security. It will bring together the National Crime Agency, Counter Terrorism Policing and regional organised crime capabilities.

Data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales indicates that the most common method of entry in the case of vehicle theft involved use of electronic devices to manipulate the signal from a remote locking device. The Policing and Crime Act provides the police and courts with stronger powers to target those who use, manufacture or supply these tools, allowing for a maximum penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.

In January 2026, the Government published a consultation on motoring offences and enforcement, including whether existing penalties and enforcement powers remain effective, proportionate and sufficiently capable of deterring repeat or dangerous behaviour. Responses to the consultation are currently being analysed, and the Government will publish its response in due course.

Information on stolen vehicles is already shared across law enforcement and with relevant partners to support the prevention, detection and investigation of vehicle crime. Opal, the police national intelligence unit focusing on serious organised acquisitive crime has responsibility for identifying and developing intelligence relating to organised vehicle crime. It works with law enforcement officers, partners and industry (both nationally and internationally) in delivering this remit. In addition, the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership headed by the National Police Chief Council’s Lead for Vehicle Crime, ACC Sarah Grahame, brings together law enforcement, industry and government partners. It is working to enhance information sharing and analysis, build networks to target offenders and coordinate activity to reduce vehicle crime and associated harm.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of arrangements for identifying and intervening with persistent offenders involved in (a) vehicle theft and (b) dangerous driving; and what steps she is taking to support police forces to prevent escalation in such offending.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government recognises the serious impacts that vehicle theft and dangerous driving can have on businesses, communities and individuals and is determined to ensure that crimes such as these receive the response they deserve.

Police Reform will support policing and provide our communities with more consistent services and policing which responds to local needs.  At the local level, new Local Policing Units (LPUs) will work with communities to focus on the issues that matter most to them, such as responding to emergencies, preventing and investigating local crime – such as vehicle theft and dangerous driving – and supporting safer neighbourhoods. In addition, the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee commits to delivering 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel by the end of the Parliament. 3,814 additional police officers and PCSOs were delivered into neighbourhood roles by Mach 2026, creating more capacity for local patrols and a stronger presence in communities.

Vehicle theft is often organised, mobile and cross border in nature. At the national level, Police Reform will address cross-border threats such as these by establishing a more capable National Police Service (NPS) that will tackle national threats and deliver national capabilities. The NPS will bring together four core functions: strategic leadership, standard setting, support and enabling services for police forces in England and Wales and the operational response to serious and organised crime, like serious organised vehicle crime, and threats to national security. It will bring together the National Crime Agency, Counter Terrorism Policing and regional organised crime capabilities.

Data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales indicates that the most common method of entry in the case of vehicle theft involved use of electronic devices to manipulate the signal from a remote locking device. The Policing and Crime Act provides the police and courts with stronger powers to target those who use, manufacture or supply these tools, allowing for a maximum penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.

In January 2026, the Government published a consultation on motoring offences and enforcement, including whether existing penalties and enforcement powers remain effective, proportionate and sufficiently capable of deterring repeat or dangerous behaviour. Responses to the consultation are currently being analysed, and the Government will publish its response in due course.

Information on stolen vehicles is already shared across law enforcement and with relevant partners to support the prevention, detection and investigation of vehicle crime. Opal, the police national intelligence unit focusing on serious organised acquisitive crime has responsibility for identifying and developing intelligence relating to organised vehicle crime. It works with law enforcement officers, partners and industry (both nationally and internationally) in delivering this remit. In addition, the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership headed by the National Police Chief Council’s Lead for Vehicle Crime, ACC Sarah Grahame, brings together law enforcement, industry and government partners. It is working to enhance information sharing and analysis, build networks to target offenders and coordinate activity to reduce vehicle crime and associated harm.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of earlier diagnosis of prostate cancer on survival rates among men from groups at higher risk of the disease.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon member to the answer provided on 16 July in response to Question 17458.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to review the eligibility criteria for prostate cancer screening as further evidence becomes available from the TRANSFORM study.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon member to the answer provided on 16 July in response to Question 17458.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential for the findings of the TRANSFORM study to inform a future national prostate cancer screening programme.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon member to the answer provided on 16 July in response to Question 17458.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Section 38 agreements under the Highways Act 1980 in ensuring the timely completion and adoption of roads on new housing developments; and whether she is considering measures to ensure that financial bonds and other securities are adequate to enable outstanding highway works to be completed where developers fail to meet their obligations.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport recently commissioned independent research into the road adoption process in England, including the operation of Section 38 agreements under the Highways Act 1980. The Department is considering the findings of this research alongside ongoing cross-government work on unadopted roads and private estate management arrangements, including the operation of current arrangements for Section 38 bonds and other financial securities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were in receipt of subsistence-only asylum support as of the most recent date for which figures are available.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

The number of individuals in receipt of subsistence-only Home Office support is published in table Asy_D09 of the ‘Asylum support detailed datasets’. The latest data represents the number of people in receipt of support as at 30 June 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many addresses approved for subsistence-only asylum support are recorded as hosting more than one supported individual at the same time.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

This data is not held in a reportable format.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what requirement exists for an asylum seeker to notify her Department of a change of address after leaving Home Office accommodation to stay with friends or family, where they are not in receipt of subsistence-only support.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

Where an asylum seeker makes an application for subsistence only support, an assessment is made on whether they are destitute. This may involve enquiries about the hosts circumstances where relevant to determining whether the asylum seeker is destitute.

Asylum seekers are required by Immigration Rule 358B to provide the Home Office with any change of address where they are not being supported by the Home Office. This includes where supported asylum seekers intend to leave asylum accommodation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what checks her Department undertakes on the immigration status of a person hosting an asylum seeker under the subsistence-only support route.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

Where an asylum seeker makes an application for subsistence only support, an assessment is made on whether they are destitute. This may involve enquiries about the hosts circumstances where relevant to determining whether the asylum seeker is destitute.

Asylum seekers are required by Immigration Rule 358B to provide the Home Office with any change of address where they are not being supported by the Home Office. This includes where supported asylum seekers intend to leave asylum accommodation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in receipt of subsistence-only asylum support have had that support (a) withdrawn and (b) suspended in the last 12 months because her Department was unable to establish contact with them.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

This data is not held in a reportable format.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who left Home Office asylum accommodation to stay with friends and family members did not go on to receive subsistence-only support.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

This data is not held in a reportable format.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who left Home Office asylum accommodation without receiving subsistence-only support are recorded as whereabouts unknown.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

This data is not held in a reportable format.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people convicted of (a) taking a motor vehicle without consent, (b) aggravated vehicle taking and (c) dangerous driving in each of the last five years were aged (i) under 18 and (ii) 18 to 24; and how many people in each category had one or more previous convictions.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

We have not made a specific assessment of the effectiveness of the youth justice system in reducing reoffending in relation to the requested offences. However, please refer to the tables attached which show the proven reoffending rates for children and young adults (18-24) convicted of these offences. To note that volumes are too low to reproduce reoffending rates for children convicted of dangerous driving offences.

The principal aim of the youth justice system is to protect the public by preventing offending by children. In the Youth Justice White Paper published earlier this year, the Government laid out a range of robust interventions to deliver on that aim, with a particular focus on early intervention and strengthening youth justice services. Youth justice services are empowered to design specific provision that works best for their local area. For example, Leicestershire Youth Justice Services’ deliver the Brake! programme, which is used for children involved in driving offences.

The number of children and 18-24 year olds convicted of the requested offences, and the number of people in each category with one or more convictions, can be found attached.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the youth justice system in reducing reoffending among children and young adults convicted of (a) vehicle theft, (b) aggravated vehicle taking and (c) dangerous driving offences.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

We have not made a specific assessment of the effectiveness of the youth justice system in reducing reoffending in relation to the requested offences. However, please refer to the tables attached which show the proven reoffending rates for children and young adults (18-24) convicted of these offences. To note that volumes are too low to reproduce reoffending rates for children convicted of dangerous driving offences.

The principal aim of the youth justice system is to protect the public by preventing offending by children. In the Youth Justice White Paper published earlier this year, the Government laid out a range of robust interventions to deliver on that aim, with a particular focus on early intervention and strengthening youth justice services. Youth justice services are empowered to design specific provision that works best for their local area. For example, Leicestershire Youth Justice Services’ deliver the Brake! programme, which is used for children involved in driving offences.

The number of children and 18-24 year olds convicted of the requested offences, and the number of people in each category with one or more convictions, can be found attached.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with social media companies on the preservation and provision to law enforcement agencies of content depicting suspected criminal offences.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Home Office Ministers and senior officials regularly engage with key stakeholders, including social media companies, on a range of policy and operational issues.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the specifics of discussions with individual companies concerning the preservation or provision of content to law enforcement agencies, for reasons of operational sensitivity, national security and commercial sensitivity.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the biosecurity risks arising from increasingly capable artificial intelligence models; and what safeguards are in place to assess and mitigate those risks before advanced models are deployed.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)

The AI Security Institute works proactively with frontier laboratories to test the capability of AI models and advise them on where safeguards can, and should, be strengthened to prevent biological risks emerging.

The UK Biological Security Strategy sets out our ambition and approach to building national resilience to a spectrum of biological risks by 2030. This includes strengthening our sovereign capabilities to respond to naturally occurring pandemics, biological weapons and emerging biosecurity threats, such as those exacerbated or accelerated by AI.

The UK Biological Security Strategy Implementation Report, published in July this year, sets out the tangible actions we are taking to reduce biological risks, including around £1bn of investment in health protection measures to strengthen domestic resilience.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Defence announced an investment of £115 million to raise the UK’s defences against the threats from AI, including using AI to improve our biological security and mitigate risks posed by autonomous AI agents. This is alongside investment of over £1.83 billion to establish a Network of National Biosecurity Centres, including £1 billion in Weybridge, £580 million in Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) Porton Down, and £250 million over this Parliament in Harlow to bolster defences against biological incidents, accidents and attacks.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its approach to AI safety of recent evidence of advanced artificial intelligence systems engaging in (a) deceptive behaviour and (b) unauthorised actions when given access to external tools and online environments.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)

The Government takes the risks from advanced AI extremely seriously and recognises the importance of ensuring our approach keeps pace with a rapidly evolving technology. The work of the AI Security Institute to build a rigorous, scientific understanding of the capabilities of the most advanced AI systems and the risks they pose, ensures that policy decisions on frontier AI are grounded in evidence. Further detail is provided in Written Statement UIN HCWS314 'Artificial intelligence update'.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of existing testing and oversight arrangements for advanced artificial intelligence models in light of recent increases in their capabilities; and whether he plans to introduce further safeguards.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)

In light of the capability developments demonstrated by the instances of unauthorised behaviour by AI models, AISI has reviewed its testing practices and made updates to increase the security of testing evaluations to reflect model capabilities. AISI recently completed pre-deployment testing of OpenAI’s newest model, GPT-6 Astra. We maintain daily contact with leading AI developers on AI security testing. Further detail is provided in Written Statement UIN HCWS314 'Artificial intelligence update'.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what guidance the Crown Prosecution Service provides to prosecutors on the evidential use of social media content apparently recorded or uploaded by a defendant in prosecutions for (a) theft, (b) burglary, (c) vehicle crime and (d) dangerous driving.

Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The CPS does not provide specific guidance on the use of social media content as evidence in prosecutions for offences of (a) theft, (b) burglary, (c) vehicle crime and (d) dangerous driving.

However, prosecutors are required to use all available relevant and admissible evidence (including social media content) in prosecutions for all types of offence (including theft, burglary, vehicle crime and dangerous driving) in order to build the strongest possible cases.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of protections available to homeowners where a developer leaves a new-build housing development before roads, pavements and other agreed infrastructure have been completed; and what recourse is available to homeowners where the developer and relevant local authority have been unable to secure completion of those works.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government recognises concerns where developers leave housing developments before roads, pavements or other agreed infrastructure have been completed. Under section 38 of the Highways Act 1980, developers may enter into agreements with local highway authorities for new roads to be adopted once they have been constructed to the required standard. Where a Section 38 agreement is in place, local highway authorities will normally require a financial bond or other security to help ensure outstanding highway works can be completed if the developer fails to do so.

The Department for Transport recently commissioned independent research into the road adoption process in England and is considering the findings alongside wider cross-government work on unadopted estate amenities. The recourse available to homeowners will depend on the circumstances of the development and the legal arrangements in place but may include action by the relevant local authority under agreements entered into with the developer, including the use of any bond or other security.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve the safety of police officers responding to incidents involving vehicles being driven dangerously; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) training, (b) equipment and (c) operational guidance available to officers responding to such incidents.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the adequacy of equipment, training and guidance available to officers responding to vehicles being driven dangerously. These are matters for policing who are best placed to assess local risks and operational needs. However, forces are expected to ensure that officers are appropriately trained, equipped and supported to carry out their duties safely and effectively.

Police have a range of tactics and equipment available to manage incidents involving dangerous driving, decisions on which tactic to adopt in each individual circumstance are decisions for police forces according to the circumstances of each case.

The Government has strengthened the framework for police driving through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and regulations prescribing police driver training standards laid in 2023 and 2025. The College of Policing has also introduced licensing for police driver training providers.

The Home Office continues to work with the National Police Chiefs' Council and the College of Policing to support effective roads policing and officer safety.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance and resources are provided to police forces on identifying, preserving and using publicly available social media content as (i) intelligence and (ii) evidence of suspected (a) vehicle theft, (b) dangerous driving and (c) other serious criminal behaviour.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police forces have statutory powers, supported by guidance, to obtain and preserve data, including social media content. These include the online information powers under the Crime and Policing Act 2026 once commenced, powers under the Investigatory Powers Act 2026, and other mechanisms such as bilaterial agreements and mutual legal assistance.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the use by police forces of social media content posted by suspected offenders as evidence in the investigation of (a) vehicle theft, (b) dangerous driving and (c) other criminal offences.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police forces have statutory powers, supported by guidance, to obtain and preserve data, including social media content. These include the online information powers under the Crime and Policing Act 2026 once commenced, powers under the Investigatory Powers Act 2026, and other mechanisms such as bilaterial agreements and mutual legal assistance.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance is available to police forces on the collection and preservation of social media content posted by suspected offenders for use as evidence in criminal investigations; and whether she has plans to review that guidance.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police forces have statutory powers, supported by guidance, to obtain and preserve data, including social media content. These include the online information powers under the Crime and Policing Act 2026 once commenced, powers under the Investigatory Powers Act 2026, and other mechanisms such as bilaterial agreements and mutual legal assistance.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of school holiday scheduling on consumer prices in the travel and tourism sector.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

Businesses in the travel sector consider many factors when setting prices including demand at peak times such as during the school holiday period. However, during periods of lower demand, the travel industry often offer early booking discounts or free chid places, for example. Some will offer late booking deals by reducing prices.

While no specific assessment has been made by the department, the government recognises that this can be a cost to families. We continue to engage with the industry, encouraging competitiveness, price transparency and innovation to promote growth and to ensure that consumers cans choose the best deals.

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